Marco's RTG
One of the great things about working at a site like HotHardware is that I get exposed to a ton of PC hardware and related accessories. Most of my time is spent testing and evaluating high-end processors, graphics cards and storage devices, but every once in a while something new and different comes along that catches my eye and I take...
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Every so often, I get my hands on a product that doesn’t necessarily require a multi-page, deep-dive technical analysis, but is interesting nonetheless and something worth talking about. When that happens and the product is something that I (or another member of the team) can use on a daily basis, we’ll take it for a spin...
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A few weeks back, Eaton sent over one of their enterprise-class 5PX uninterruptable power supplies for testing and evaluation. If you haven’t seen what Eaton has to offer in the power protection space, I definitely suggest taking a look. I was aware of the company before, but hadn’t had any firsthand experience with their products....
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I tend to shy away from doing full-blown power supply reviews. Without using specialized (and expensive) equipment with which to precisely control load and environmental / operating temperatures and monitor output stability and noise, it is difficult to draw any solid conclusions regarding one PSU’s capabilities and performance over...
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It has been a long while since I last wrote about my favorite PC peripheral—the mechanical keyboard. Too long, in fact. Since my last blog post on the subject, there have been a number of developments in the mechanical keyboard scene, with a handful of major players now in the game, like Razer and Rosewill. Keyboards with less-common...
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I recently had the chance to test out an interesting set of speakers targeted at PC users, the Soundscience rockus 3D|2.1, designed by Antec. At first glance, these speakers may not stand out with their smallish-looking satellites, and unassuming rectangular sub, but upon closer inspection there’s obviously something special going on...
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We geeks are a diverse bunch that run the gamut from pretty-boy, genius, millionaire entrepreneurs that regularly change the world, to socially inept, stereotypical nerds that really have no place leaving the confines of our cubicles (I fall somewhere in between). And our interests are equally as diverse. Don’t agree? Come to a big tech-centric...
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While in the process of reviewing the ASRock Vision 3D home theater PC a few months back, I became entrenched in all things 3DTV. At the time, I had already been building up a new home theater around a Samsung 3D TV and the opportunity coincidentally arose to evaluate a 3D-capable device, so I jumped at the chance. With that ASRock HTPC and...
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A few months back, we took a look at a true-5.1 channel headset from Psyko. We started that post off with this opening, “Aside from a powerful graphics card and large monitor, one of the best ways to increase the realism and immersiveness of PC games is with a high-quality, multi-channel speaker setup. Hearing sounds that seemingly...
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By now, regular readers of my blog should know that I have an unhealthy obsession with input devices. I constantly experiment with different mice and keyboards in an effort to find the “perfect desktop”, at least for my tastes. Over the years, my quest has led to me to two conclusions: 1) I prefer wired laser mice, with high-resolution...
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In an attempt to squelch my insatiable--and sometimes unhealthy--need to experiment with all kinds of keyboards and other input devices, I recently acquired three more 'boards for the collection, the latest Das Keyboard Pro Silent, the Microsoft Sidewinder X4, and the unique Phantom Lapboard. Although they all technically do the...
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Aside from a powerful graphics card and large monitor, one of the best ways to increase the realism and immersiveness of PC games is with a high-quality, multi-channel speaker setup. Hearing sounds that seemingly wiz by your head and being able to pick up on subtle tones coming from different directions, can transform a ho-hum gaming session...
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I am a total keyboard snob; there's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Over the last few years, I've personally tested virtually every possible keyboard type--and every key switch type--and am convinced there is no better option than a mechanical keyswitch keyboard if you spend any significant amount of time in front of a computer....
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Although USB 3.0 is a relatively new technology that is not yet natively supported by any of the core logic chipsets currently on the market, a number of motherboards from major players like Gigabyte, Asus, and MSI (among others) sport an NEC-built USB 3.0 controller that supports the feature. The main advantage of incorporating such a controller...
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